Alex

I dedicated this to a man who,
I never had the pleasure to have known.
Though the blood of his ancestors
mingles with my own.

A man just reaching his prime
A man who left this world
Long before his time.

Did he have a girl?
Yes he did,
but a life they would never share.
he also had a loving family
Oh! And they loved him so!

He did his duty,
and did what was right.
He toiled,
and labored in freedoms mighty fight.
To his family he gave great pride.

It was on November 29,1918
I am not sure if it was early or late,
when he was to take his last flight.
Victory, he helped secure.
From this “little scrap” he’d not return.

He lost his wings on that day…
he lost is life on foreign soil…
with his family so very far away.

This Dear man was my Grand Uncle,
An Uncle that would never know the joy
of his own children.
This man would never
hold his nieces and nephews in his lap.

He would never see all
his Sisters married.

His mother wrote this of him, in words that only a mother can;

… Is it needful to speak
of the dear one
Who made the supreme sacrifice;
For the love of mankind and his country
He journeyed and paid the big price.
We laid him to rest in God’s acre
In Crown Hill on the Government lot,
Which will always be tenderly cared for
And his mem’ry will ne’re be forgot.
But our hearts are so sad and so lonely,
For his face we shall never see more
Till the time when our labors are ended
And we meet on eternity’s shore…….
Barbara Jane Kaye OGILVIE
written in July, 1924

At this writing this family is at last,
each and everyone with their hero and beloved one…
Sisters and brother, Mom and Dad alike.
Even many of his nieces and
nephews have joined him around the throne.

I take my hat off to him and
all the rest whether an early grave,
where they found their rest,
or those that Marched on
and lived these memories daily…
and in some way preserved the
memories of those that have been lost,
for you and I at such a great cost.
Julia K. Hogston
February 19, 2000

This poem has been re written several times! I initially wrote it to place on my genealogy website, hoping to find out more information on Uncle Alex (Kaye). The piece did bring me many pieces of information and the reasons that I’ve had to re-write some of it. This is the poem that brought me his dog tags. If you have a website, don’t give up someone will see it some day and will have just that little piece of information you need. I have not been to Alex’s grave site, but I have had flowers put on his grave for his birthday.